Johnny Cash's daughter knew he'd cheat

Rosanne Cash knew her father Johnny would cheat on her mother Vivian Liberto because he spent so much time on the road.

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Posted:12 Sep 2019 02:00

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Johnny Cash's daughter thought it was "inevitable" he would cheat on her mother.

Rosanne Cash - the eldest of his five children - wasn't surprised when she found out that the best-selling artist had struck up an affair with June Carter, who was part of his touring ensemble, while he was on the road because they spent so much more time together than he did with her mother Vivian Liberto.

Speaking to PEOPLE magazine, Rosanne, 64, explained: "It [the affair with June] seemed inevitable, though it was so painful for my mom."

However, Rosanne had no resentment towards her new step-mother.

She said: "I had two really good examples from women in my life. My mom gave me this powerful sense of discipline, family, mothering and detail orientation. And June gave me this sense of expansiveness and how to live life as a performer."

The American singer-songwriter thought her father was the "sweetest" man but her childhood was "chaotic" because of his battle with addiction.

She explained: "My childhood was chaotic, number one. I understood from a really young age that [my dad] was an artist and that his mind worked differently. And ... that scared my mother."

And, although she loved music, Rosanne was initially worried about following in her father's footsteps in case she became hooked on drugs like he did.

She said: "I didn't think I could sing. And I grew up thinking becoming famous was about the worst thing you could do. You went on the road, you started doing drugs and got divorced and didn't see your kids and everything fell apart."

Johnny divorced his wife Vivian in 1966 and went on to marry June two years later.

He passed away in 2003 aged 71 from respiratory problems linked to diabetes.

As well as Rosanne, Johnny had Tara, Kathy and Cindy with Vivian and John with June.